NAME: ROBERT C. SPRINGER (colonel, USMC)
NASA Astronaut
Although born in St. Louis, he considers Ashland, Ohio, his
hometown. Springer is a member of the astronaut class of 1980 and at
46, he made his first space flight on STS-29 as mission specialist two
(MS-2).
He has worked in the Mission Control Center as a CAPCOM for
seven flights and was responsible for Astronaut Office
coordination of design requirements reviews and design
certification reviews, part of the total recertification and
reverification of the National Space Transportation System prior
to STS-26's return to flight.
Springer earned a B.S. degree in naval science from the U.S.
Naval Academy in 1964 and a M.S. in operations research and
systems analysis from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1971.
After receiving a USMC commission, Springer received his
aviator wings in August 1966 and was assigned to VMFA-513 at the
Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, N.C., where he flew F-4
aircraft. He then served in Southeast Asia where he flew F-4s
and completed 300 combat missions. In June 1968, Springer served
as an advisor to the Republic of Korea Marine Corps in Vietnam
and flew 250 combat missions in 01 "Bird Dogs" and UH1 "Huey"
helicopters.
Springer attended Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) and
in 1975 graduated from the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School in
Patuxent River, Md. He has served as a test pilot for more than
20 different fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and performed the
first flights in the AHIT helicopter. Springer has logged more
than 3,500 hours flying time, including 3,000 hours in jet
aircraft.